Local teams capture silver, bronze medals

The Laguna Beach Water Polo Club’s 14-and-under boys’ team captured the silver medal from last weekend’s Winterfest tournament at Northwood High in Irvine.

Laguna’s 14U boys competed in the AA Division, the toughest of all divisions with 16 teams.

Laguna scored wins Saturday over Los Angeles-based Foothill Water Polo Club, Elite Water Polo Club of Murrieta Valley and Clovis of Central California, but lost in the division final to Rose Bowl.

“We are extremely pleased by the performance of this highly skilled Laguna team,” said Chad Beeler, administrator of LBWPC. “To bring home a silver medal from Winterfest definitely sends a message that these boys are contenders leading up to Junior Olympics this summer.”

The Laguna boys’ 14U team is: Jakob Colladay, Ryan Decker, Graham Peleaux, Garrett Hartley, Cade Baldridge, Greyson Benson, Trent Sadle, Nolan del Toro, Sean Whitlock, Aki Andersen, Noah Herbst and Coach Jose Stalin Reyes.

—Cheryl Baldridge, Community Correspondent

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Girls’ 12U Division

Last weekend, Laguna’s 12-and-under girls’ team returned home with a Winterfest 2011 bronze medal after three days of action at the San Clemente High School pool that featured some of the strongest teams from throughout the state.

Laguna was immediately challenged in the opening game of the tournament Saturday, where the team was narrowly defeated, 7-6, in overtime by 680 Drivers from the San Francisco Bay area. Later that day, Laguna easily defeat Chino Hills Area Water Polo (CHAWP), 12-2. On Sunday morning, the team took on the UCI Anteaters club team and rolled to a 10-4 victory.

In their final game of the weekend, the girls faced off Sunday against the UC Davis club. Laguna’s squad came out thundering with a 7-0 lead after the first quarter, then cruised to a 9-4 victory that earned the team a bronze medal.

“We are building a very strong roster of girls and for this tournament,” Beeler said. “It was especially nice to see the younger fifth-graders learning skills from the more experienced sixth-graders.”

— Steve Riches, Community Correspondent